Various types of spreading apparatus have been proposed for coating the inside of a completed tire. Such prior art devices are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,471,787, issued Oct. 23, 1923 and in which loosely journalled spreader rollers contacted the interior surface of the tire. Consequently, the rollers engaged the freshly sprayed interior and this resulted in irregularly thick layers of the spray liquid and also resulted in the formation of small, loose particles of the liquid which tend to stick to the interior surface of the tire.
Another example of the prior art is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,263, issued Sept. 2, 1958. That tire spreader attachment also related to finished tires and not green or unfinished tires, and that apparatus utilized a split ring for grasping and supporting the beaded edges of the tire. As a result, the entire interior of the tire, including the beaded edges, could not be thoroughly covered with the spray material.